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06 Jul 2008, 15:14

1

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The term “episodic memory” wasintroduced by Tulving to refer to what heconsidered a uniquely human capacity—Line the ability to recollect specific past events,(5) to travel back into the past in one’s ownmind—as distinct from the capacity simplyto use information acquired through pastexperiences. Subsequently, Clayton et al.developed criteria to test for episodic(10) memory in animals. According to thesecriteria, episodic memories are not ofindividual bits of information; they involvemultiple components of a single event“bound” together. Clayton sought to(15) examine evidence of scrub jays’ accuratememory of “what,”“where,” and “when”information and their binding of this information.In the wild, these birds store foodfor retrieval later during periods of food(20) scarcity. Clayton’s experiment requiredjays to remember the type, location, andfreshness of stored food based on a uniquelearning event. Crickets were stored in onelocation and peanuts in another. Jays(25) prefer crickets, but crickets degrademore quickly. Clayton’s birds switchedtheir preference from crickets to peanuts17once the food had been stored for a certainlength of time, showing that they retain(30) information about the what, the where,and the when. Such experiments cannot,however, reveal whether the birds werereexperiencing the past when retrieving theinformation. Clayton acknowledged this byusing the term “episodic-like” memory.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q8:The primary purpose of the passage is toA. explain how the findings of a particular experiment have been interpreted andoffer an alternative interpretationB. describe a particular experiment and point out one of its limitationsC. present similarities between human memory and animal memoryD. point out a flaw in the argument that a certain capacity is uniquely humanE. account for the unexpected behavior of animal subjects in a particular experiment

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06 Jul 2008, 15:46

B

(A theory and argument is mentioned, a test experiment is performed to validate the theory, and the test does not give any evidence)

The primary purpose of the passage is toA. explain how the findings of a particular experiment have been interpreted andoffer an alternative interpretation (there is no alternative interpretation of the experiment)B. describe a particular experiment and point out one of its limitations (fits with my overall understanding of the passage as stated above)C. present similarities between human memory and animal memory (out of scope)D. point out a flaw in the argument that a certain capacity is uniquely human (It is never concluded that there is a flaw in the argument, its just that evidence was not found)E. account for the unexpected behavior of animal subjects in a particular experiment (this is just the last para of the essay, not the primary purpose)

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07 Jul 2008, 18:57

rpmodi wrote:

The term “episodic memory” wasintroduced by Tulving to refer to what heconsidered a uniquely human capacity—Line the ability to recollect specific past events,(5) to travel back into the past in one’s ownmind—as distinct from the capacity simplyto use information acquired through pastexperiences. Subsequently, Clayton et al.developed criteria to test for episodic(10) memory in animals. According to thesecriteria, episodic memories are not ofindividual bits of information; they involvemultiple components of a single event“bound” together. Clayton sought to(15) examine evidence of scrub jays’ accuratememory of “what,”“where,” and “when”information and their binding of this information.In the wild, these birds store foodfor retrieval later during periods of food(20) scarcity. Clayton’s experiment requiredjays to remember the type, location, andfreshness of stored food based on a uniquelearning event. Crickets were stored in onelocation and peanuts in another. Jays(25) prefer crickets, but crickets degrademore quickly. Clayton’s birds switchedtheir preference from crickets to peanuts17once the food had been stored for a certainlength of time, showing that they retain(30) information about the what, the where,and the when. Such experiments cannot,however, reveal whether the birds werereexperiencing the past when retrieving theinformation. Clayton acknowledged this byusing the term “episodic-like” memory.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q8:The primary purpose of the passage is toA. explain how the findings of a particular experiment have been interpreted andoffer an alternative interpretationB. describe a particular experiment and point out one of its limitationsC. present similarities between human memory and animal memoryD. point out a flaw in the argument that a certain capacity is uniquely humanE. account for the unexpected behavior of animal subjects in a particular experiment

uniquely human capacity—Line the ability to recollect specific past events,(5) to travel back into the past in one’s ownmind—as distinct from the capacity simplyto use information acquired through pastexperiences. Subsequently, Clayton et al.developed criteria to test for episodic(10) memory in animals

Such experiments cannot,however, reveal whether the birds werereexperiencing the past when retrieving theinformation. Clayton acknowledged this byusing the term “episodic-like” memory

The author first talks about episodic memory in human beings. Then he talks about experiment to test episodic memory in animals. Then he describes his findings. At the end he defines a new term "episodic like memory"

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08 Jul 2008, 10:18

Why not D?

1. The term "episodic memory " is coined to be uniquely human by Tulving.2. Clayton tries to test it in animals. 3. Experiment follows.4. Clayton says experiments cannot reveal whether the birds were re-experiencing the past when retrieving theinformation. However, he still acknowledged this characteristic in birds as episodic memory.

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29 Jul 2008, 21:05

B. An experience is described, and towards the end, the author says "Such experiments cannot,however, reveal whether the birds were reexperiencing the past when retrieving theinformation", pointing out one of its limitations.
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